Should Cannabis Be Legalized In The UK?
At the time that this essay is being written, marijuana is an illegal drug in most parts of the world. This is something that has slowly but surely begun to change although the process is a fairly slow one. This essay aims to look argumentatively at the concept of cannabis legalization in the UK with the aim of revealing the truth of the matter.
No it should remain illegal
Marijuana has the potential to addict people who consume it. Addiction can lead to a severe loss of potential in the labor market. If cannabis were to become legal more people would be able to access it through legal channels and fall into the trap of addiction. While there is much less proof than was previously accepted that marijuana is a gateway drug to more damaging substances, on its own it has the ability to thwart ambition in those so prone.
As more people access marijuana legally, it will become easier for younger people to access it from adults to whom it has legitimately been prescribed. This could get them hooked.
Yes it should be legalized
The science behind the original criminalization of ‘weed’ is faulty and sometimes even completely false. The countries that have legalized this substance have not experienced the expected spike in crime and often quite the opposite occurs.
We should look at the methods that criminal enterprises use to acquire power. Most of the drug lords who deal in marijuana are also in possession of weapons that they use to protect it which fuels gun violence and promotes turf wars. Marijuana is a drug but it is a relatively harmless one. By keeping it illegal, we put power into the hands of criminals and take tax revenue out of the hands of government and citizens. That lost tax revenue would have been earned from a properly regulated cannabis industry.
In addition to being a relatively harmless drug, cannabis is also extremely useful medicinally. Research has proven that can be used in cancer treatments, pain management and several other highly important applications for which very expensive drugs are currently used. This has the potential to save the United Kingdom large sums of money in the provision of health care once marijuana can legally be prescribed.
There are more arguments that support the legalization of cannabis and most likely this will be the policy in less than a decade.